The way the river flows
by Valeriasg1
Summary: “All they knew at the moment was that they didn’t want it all to be a bittersweet memory to revisit late at night…” post Resolution fic


Title: The way the river flows

Pairing: Janeway/Chakotay

Rating: mild R

Classification: one shot post Resolutions, fluff

Word count: 1364

Summary: "All they knew at the moment was that they didn't want it all to be a bittersweet memory to revisit late at night…"

Disclaimers: I don't own the characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while.

A/N: My first and last Voyager fic. Blame it on my own insomnia and headache.

Thanks to xfairy1013 who proof-read the fic for me, glared and screamed at my total lack of anything resembling prudery and finally approved it.

Slosh, slosh, hoot.

Slosh, gurgle, slosh, hoot.

It came from everywhere around her, each speaker emitting a different string of sounds to enhance the feeling of being totally immersed in wild nature. The simulated acoustic environment provided a striking contrast to the sterile looking greys and whites of the bedroom walls as much as their improvised shelter had to the lush vegetation of the planet.

Slosh, slosh, shriek.

Kathryn Janeway could feel the headache already forming between her eyes. She shifted again beneath the replicated cotton sheets and pressed her face further into the pillow in a useless attempt to block out the offending noise. Chakotay's soft rumble of protest vibrated against the back of her neck and his arms tightened the loose hold he had on her hips, pulling her back against him. She held her breath for a few long moments, listening to his even breathing, or more accurately, feeling it come in warm puffs on her bare shoulder. He was still asleep.

She had eased back into the Captain's chair and her previous life gracefully and comfortably, as if she were coming back from a few hours on the holodeck instead of having been stranded for weeks on an uninhabited planet without hope of ever returning on Voyager. Or Earth, for that matter.

Yet, she had caressed the soft fake leather of her chair and the metal walls as she passed by, testing their familiarity under her fingertips, now slightly callused with garden work. She had stared at the warp core with a satisfied smile on her lips and she had kissed Chakotay in the infirmary while they weren't being watched.

It was something that would need sorting out in the future, and some major decisions to make. The way their relationship had changed during their last weeks of permanence on New Earth was too deep and bonding to be hidden behind a mask of pretence.

Words had been exchanged, as well as intimate touches that went well past the line of blurring with time. The memory of his weight on her, of his body moving intently over hers, felt larger than life outside their little shelter and among the scrutinizing crew, too vivid and too strong to be locked away, too overwhelming to be ignored.

The disoriented look on Chakotay's face as the Doctor examined him, his eyes desperately searching for hers, comforted her and scared her at the same time. She had hoped he would have had an answer to all her pressing questions, or at least a clue at what was going to happen to the two of them as a couple.

To say the truth, she wasn't even sure they were actually a couple. The silent agreement to bridge the distance between them as their fingers twined and squeezed reassuringly the other's hand on that balmy night had been meant for New Earth. It had fitted perfectly with light clothes and loose hair and open affection and freedom, and now looked impossibly far away in the sea of Starfleet uniforms and over-interested eyes that was Voyager.

All they knew at the moment was that they didn't want it all to be a bittersweet memory to revisit late at night in their separated quarters, or to see reflected in one another's eyes on days when the flame of longing burned brighter than usual within their souls.

That's why she hadn't protested when instead of walking her to her quarters he'd pulled her into his own room and into his arms for a long, frantic kiss. Which had unsurprisingly led to silent, slow lovemaking, and an awkward confession from Chakotay's part about having gotten used to falling asleep to the soothing sounds of New Earth and her wrapped around him.

He'd actually used the word addiction, a tender smile gracing his face as he brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face. He'd watched her through heavy-lidded eyes, and Kathryn relaxed into his embrace, feeling warm and contented despite the confusion in her head as a faint splashing of water picked up in the background.

She somewhat missed the stupid tomato sprouts, but she wasn't planning on growing a crop of Talaxian tomatoes in her quarters. The water she could cope with, she loved the sound of the ocean and thought it relaxing herself, but the incessant chirping, hooting and now croaking were definitely grating on her nerves.

Chakotay was still sleeping peacefully at her side, and it only increased the irrational indignation and frustration in her sleep-deprived mind. He was sleeping, she wasn't, and it was unfair.

He, no doubt, genuinely enjoyed the piece. He'd always been more of a country person than she had, proving it several times on their stay on New Earth.

She was fairly sure she was going be as nice as a Klingon with a sore tooth the following morning if the racket didn't stop soon. And she had a faint feeling that it wasn't really the best way to present herself to her enthusiastic crew on her first day back on the bridge.

Her forehead throbbed violently as a particularly eager hoot reached her ears and all resolves of being kind to her sleeping companion were forgotten as she jabbed an elbow into his ribs.

"Oh, for God's sake. Chakotay!" She hissed.

His hand found her wrist in the dark and gently curled the fingers around the slender bones.

"What is it?" He sounded alert enough, if a little groggy, and Kathryn felt momentarily guilty for having woken him up so harshly. When the hooting continued, increasing in volume, she decided that she wasn't after all.

"Could you please turn that damn thing off? It has already given me an headache." The emphasis she put on the word please wasn't out of politeness as much as a means to convey her irritation.

"The ambient sounds? They are supposed to be relaxing."

"They are annoying."

She felt him chuckle slightly and roll away from her as he reached for the remote.

"What?"

"I guess you are very happy to have back the buzz of the engines to lull you to sleep." The volume sank lower and lower until the room was plunged in blissful silence.

"As a matter of fact, I am." A note of humor crept in her voice at his light teasing and she pressed two fingers into his left bicep.

He took advantage of the darkness to pivot on that same arm and trap her under his hot body with a low guttural growl. His mouth descended on her neck, trailing hot open-mouthed kisses down the tender column of her throat. He felt it vibrate on his lips as her slim frame shook with soft laughter.

"Aren't you on an early shift tomorrow?" Her foot nudged his calf as she bent her leg, the inside of her thigh sliding up against his hip in the process.

"Yes, but you woke me up." He lowered a strap of her nightgown and moved his lips down to the swell of one breast. "And I have no intentions of going back to sleep right now."

There was no need for lighting in the room for him to know her eyebrows had traveled up her forehead.

"I think I sprained a few vertebrae pulling that stunt." He chuckled quietly and rested his head on her shoulder, reveling in the feeling of her soft hand threading through his short hair.

"Someone here is getting old, uh?." Kathryn sang, patting his back in mock comfort. "And heavy." She squirmed under him, the hand on his head now pushing him away in the same playful manner, the palm pressing against his forehead. "If you don't want to sleep go build your boat."

He escaped her offensive hand with a snort of choked back laughter and blocked it in a firm grip, struggling a little to push her arm down onto the pillow, next to her cocked head. He wished he could see in that moment, because he knew she'd be more beautiful than ever.

Challenge lingered in Chakotay's husky voice as he lowered his mouth to hers.

"Come here and I'll show you who's old."


End file.
